So American

Olivia Rodrigo conceived her second studio album, Guts (2023), at the age of 19, while experiencing "lots of confusion, mistakes, awkwardness & good old fashioned teen angst".

[2][3] They wrote over 100 songs, of which Rodrigo included the more rock-oriented tracks on the album because they drew a bigger reaction from her audiences during live shows.

[10][11] Written by Rodrigo and Nigro,[3] "So American" was the only bonus track recorded after the original album's release.

[12][13] In an Instagram story, Rodrigo identified "So American" as her favorite one among the new tracks and added three winking emojis.

[23] Rodrigo begins the first line by recalling meeting him in a country where he had to drive on the right side of the road[15][26] and calling him "a poem I wish I wrote".

"[29][28] In the second verse, she self-deprecates and praises his dressing sense and reading habits, reflecting on her difficulty falling asleep when she is in his company.

Uproxx's Flisadam Pointer believed that while much of Rodrigo's previous music had chronicled her unpleasant romantic experiences, "So American" marked the conclusion of that trend and was her first soft song in a while.

[27] Writing for Elle, Alyssa Bailey thought the song provided a pleasantly hopeful take on newfound romance.

[26] Chris Willman of Variety described its composition as a "straight-up love song" as a rare occurrence in Rodrigo's output.

[20] Aadya Dusad of the South China Morning Post thought Rodrigo nailed her first attempt at one of them, as "So American" was full of joy and deeply romantic, and Harper's Bazaar's Ella Sangster believed the song's lyrics made it clear that the relationship described in it was thriving.